Environmental Issues from a Buddhist Perspective: Bluefin Tuna

One value in Buddhist teaching is interconnectedness. It discards the notion that people hierarchically are above all other beings. People tend to forget that the world is interconnected and that once we exploit our resources they are gone. As humans control the earth and do with as they please they can an in many cases unintentionally destroy the earth and its natural resources. One environmental issue caused by human impact is the overfishing of the Bluefin Tuna to the point where it has been placed on the critically endangered species list. Bluefin Tuna are being overfished at an alarming rate this human greed from a Buddhist perspective will cause the depletion and over all extinction if nothing is changed. Bluefin Tuna populations in the Atlantic Ocean have declined over 70 percent in the last thirty years yet because seafood is a global commodity being flown into markets around the world the demand has become unquenchable. Overfishing for Bluefin continues scientist expect the fish to become extinct by 2012 if nothing changes. (PBS.org) The Bluefin Tuna is a species of Tuna native to both the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean as well as the Mediterranean Sea. This is a relatively large species of fish. A full grown male can average six to eight feet long and can weigh up to 770 pounds, although the Bluefin is capable of reaching over one thousand pounds. Bluefin Tuna are robust and rhomboidal in shape. They have dark blue upper body and grey below with a gold glint covering the body. They also have bright yellow caudal fins. Bluefin can live up to 30 years but due to heavy fishing mortality few specimens grow to a mature age.("Northern Bluefin Tuna") Bluefin are carnivores in nature they typically hunt small fish and invertebrates such as sardines, herring, mackerel, squid, and crustaceous. ("Northern Bluefin Tuna") Female Bluefin are though to produce up to forty million eggs. These tuna have two primary spawning grounds. One place exists in

Bibliography: Jolly, David, and John Broader. "U.N. Rejects Export Ban on Atlantic Bluefin." The New York Times 03-18-2010, online. "Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture Series." PBS.org. N.p., Web. 6 May 2010. . "Northern Bluefin Tuna." Wikipedia. 2010. Web. . Palmer, Vanya. “Defending Sentient Beings.” Dharma Rain Source of Buddhist Environmentalism.